Chicago Fire original C.J. Brown to retire

A club spokesman confirmed Thursday that C.J. Brown will retire following this Saturday’s season finale at Chivas USA.

The 35-year-old center back, who spent his entire 13-year career with Chicago, cited a desire to spend more time with his family as the reason for his decision. He is interested in getting into coaching.

In his career, Brown appeared in 370 matches across all competitions with the Fire—by far the most in club history. He won one MLS Cup (1998), four US Open Cups and the 2003 Supporters’ Shield.

The San Jose State alum, whom the Fire drafted with the first overall pick of the 1998 Supplemental draft, spent some time with the US national team early in his career, earning 15 caps from 1998 to 2003.